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By Teresa Lloro-Bidart, Ph.D. Candidate UC Riverside Graduate School of Education

Learn about the value and implementation of ethnographic interviewing in climate change evaluation research. Explore the different types of questions and how to ask them effectively.

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By Teresa Lloro-Bidart, Ph.D. Candidate UC Riverside Graduate School of Education

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  1. By Teresa Lloro-Bidart, Ph.D. Candidate UC Riverside Graduate School of Education The Role of Ethnographic Interviewing in Climate Change Evaluation Research: Investigating Intended and Unintended Program Effects Geological Society of America Annual Conference: Charlotte, NC November 6th, 2012

  2. What does the grant I work on entail? • An undergraduate climate change course for non-majors (100s of students) • A community climate fair (100s of guests) • A science fair mentoring program for K-12 students (appx. 25 students and 20 mentors)

  3. The focus today… Evaluating the science fair mentoring program through ethnographic interviewing • What is it? • Why is it valuable? • How can I implement this tool?

  4. What is an “ethnographic” interview and why use it? • Getting the “informant’s perspective” v. eliciting pre-determined responses; informants are not “subjects” (Spradley, 1979; Mason, 2002) • Avoiding leading questions; what distinguishes it from “journalistic” interviewing? • Informants can “reconstruct” key events for evaluator = a more complete picture and collecting data that would have been missed (DeWalt & DeWalt, 2011; Mason, 2002; Seidman, 2006) • Informants have “insider” information you want!

  5. Types of questions* Grand tour questions = a “grand tour” through some important aspect of informant’s experience • “Could you describe a typical day when you meet with your mentee?” • “Could you describe the day of the science fair from beginning to end?” • “Could you describe how it is you decided to enroll in GEO 11?” For more on “types of questions” see Spradley (1979)

  6. Types of questions • Mini tour questions = follow ups to grand tour questions • “You mentioned you meet your mentee at the university library, could you describe how it is you selected the location?” • “You talked about ‘guiding your mentee’ through the research process for her project, could you describe this process?

  7. Types of questions Example questions = a single event or act you ask the informant to elaborate on • “Could you give me an example of a ‘dry side run?’” • “Could you give me an example of a “communication break down?”

  8. Types of questions Native language questions: questions where informants use terms and phrases from their cultural scene • “How is it that you got involved in outreach?” (“Outreach” was the mentors’ term, not mine) • Could you describe an activity that is “hands on?” (“Hands on” is a term used by my informants)

  9. How do I ask “ethnographic questions?” • Avoid “whys” and instead ask “how is it that…?” • Avoid leading questions • Follow up on what informants talk about in their interviews by asking mini-tour questions or example questions • Repeat/summarize what informants say to make sure you are “getting it right” and use their language/terms • Be the novice: remember that your informants are there to teach you about their world

  10. More examples… • ETHNOGRAPHIC: How is it that you came to be involved as a mentor? (Here listen for the mentors’ reasons for getting involved: e.g. wanting to give back or help out in community, love for science that they wanted to share with others, it looks good on grant applications, etc.) • JOURNALISTIC: Why did decide to be a mentor? Did you want to give back to the community or was it because you like to teach?

  11. More examples… • ETHNOGRAPHIC: How does your science fair project compare with the science you do at school? (Listen here to whether students believe the science project is different and if they are able to make connections between formal “school” science and their project. Do they see the project as more “fun,” more “hands on,” etc). • JOURNALISTIC: Did you think your science fair project was more fun than science you do in school? Why?

  12. A short activity… • Take a few minutes to think about an ethnographic question or two (work with someone else if you like) that you could use in your own site. • Would anyone like to share? • Questions?

  13. References • DeWalt, K. M., & DeWalt, B. R. (2011). Participant observation: A guide for fieldworkers (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press. • Hammersley, M., & Atkinson, P. (2007). Ethnography: Principles in practice. New York: Routledge. • Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass • Mason, J. (2002). Qualitative researching. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications Ltd. • Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. • Spradley, J. P. (1979). The ethnographic interview. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

  14. Thank you! • Questions? • Contact: tllor001@ucr.edu

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